Still not exactly sure what time zone I'm in, but it's getting better. Suki has been extremely affectionate since I got back, but unfortunately it's usually around 4:00 in the morning.

I was down in Bethesda, Maryland yesterday visiting my Clients from Heaven at AXA Space. I brought a reinsurer down to visit them, and had lunch with Maura and Rick. Such nice people. Maura suggested that we have a late lunch with Mom and Dad when we go to Los Angeles at the end of October. She also wants to get our Moms together sometime - she is planning to take her Mom out to the Grand Canyon next year for her birthday, and will try to tie in a trip to California, so there might indeed be a "meeting of the Moms."

We've been suffering through the remnants of Hurricane Isadore. Luckily it seems to have played itself out before it got all the way up here. We've had quite a bit of rain, which is very welcome due to the drought.

I just hope the remnants have exhausted themselves as I am riding in the MS 150 Bike Ride tomorrow and Sunday. It goes from Woodcrest, New Jersey to Ocean City, New Jersey - about 80 miles each way. This will be my third time riding in it - it's a wonderfully organized ride. Several stops along the way with drinks and snacks, and a big finish with games, prizes and a big dinner. Last year it was a bit flawed, since it poured rain all day Sunday. At a certain point I was so soaked that it just didn't matter anymore, but it took a good hour or so for my feet to thaw out. But this year, I am assured that it won't rain.

[I bought brand new rain gear.]

I think we need something funny, so here's a great story from CNN.com:

GENEVA, Switzerland -- A French ban on the controversial practice of "dwarf-tossing" has been upheld by the U.N. Human Rights Committee.

Manuel Wackenheim began his fight in 1995 after the French ban meant he could no longer earn a living being thrown around discotheques and nightclubs by burly men.

But on Friday, Wackenheim -- who measures 1.14 metres (3 feet 10 inches) -- lost his case when the U.N. human rights body ruled the need to protect human dignity was paramount.

In a statement, the U.N. Human Rights Committee said it was satisfied "the ban on dwarf-tossing was not abusive but necessary in order to protect public order, including considerations of human dignity." The committee also said the ban "did not amount to prohibited discrimination."

The pastime, imported from the United States and Australia in the 1980s, consists of people throwing tiny stuntmen as far as possible, usually in a bar or discotheque.